The present invention relates to a camera supporting device used for mounting a camera on a tripod, and, more specifically, to the improvement of a camera supporting device having a pistol-grip type handle which incorporates a trigger.
A typical conventional tripod head comprises a base mounted on the top end of a tripod, a pan member rotatable around the vertical axis, a tilt member rotatable around the horizontal axis, and a camera platform mounted on the top of the tilt member. The camera platform has a camera screw for fixing a camera. If the tripod head is of the so-called three-way type, the camera platform is movable from a horizontal position to a vertical position, with respect to the tilt member.
The conventional tilt member is fitted with a pan handle which has a male screw at the extreme end portion thereof. The pan handle is used for horizontal panning and vertical tilting. By turning the pan handle clockwise, the tilt member can be locked at a desired angle of inclination, and unlocked therefrom by turning the pan handle counterclockwise.
The conventional pan member is provided with a panning lock knob, and can be locked in place or released by manually rotating the knob in alternate directions. If the tripod head is of the three-way type, moreover, then the tilt member also has a tilt lock knob, the rotating of which, in alternate directions, enables the camera platform to be fixed in place or released.
In the case of the prior art tripod head, as described above, the pan handle and the knobs must be turned several times in order to control the pan member, the tilt member, and/or the camera platform, with the result that any adjustment of the camera angle is unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming.
Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,828, to Epperson, is a tripod head which comprises a pistol-grip type handle incorporating a trigger. With this tripod head, when the trigger is released by pressure applied thereto, a clamping bracket is tightened on a trunnion by means of the urging force of a coil spring, and at the same time, a head bracket is tightened on the clamping bracket. As a result, a camera platform is fixed in place, and can be reoriented only by squeezing the trigger again. By doing this, both of the brackets are released from the urging force of the spring, with the result that the clamping bracket can be oriented around the trunnion, while the head bracket can be oriented around a clamp rod which extends at right angles to the trunnion.
According to this prior art tripod head, however, the trunnion and the clamp rod, which serve as the centers of rotation of the clamp bracket and the head bracket, respectively, are arranged in a vertically offset manner, and therefore, the handle cannot be moved smoothly.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 49-43323 discloses a ball-type tripod head which is provided with a ball joint for enabling it to be oriented in all directions. According to this prior art arrangement, however, the ball joint is operated by means of a hydraulic cylinder. Therefore, it is liable to suffer from leakage of oil during use. Furthermore, since it does not have a pistol-grip type handle, the ball head cannot easily be operated with one hand.
With conventional tripod heads, including the prior art types described above, a camera screw must be turned every time a camera is attached thereto or detached therefrom. This method of attaching and detaching the camera is clearly bothersome and time-consuming.